What are ANTIOXIDANTS?
We use oxygen from the air to oxidize our food to provide the energy we need for our cells to function. Sometimes, however, those oxidation reactions release uncontrolled reactants called free radicals. Free radicals can and will react with many different important molecules, including lipids, proteins and DNA, damaging them in the process. Some free radicals arise normally during metabolism. Sometimes the body's immune system's cells purposefully create them to neutralize viruses and bacteria. However, environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals.
Normally, the body can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Of particular importance is that free radical damage accumulates with age.
The damage occurring as a result of these compounds has been associated with over 100 disease processes, including heart disease, cancer, and aging.
Free radical damage to DNA can overwhelm the repair mechanisms in cells, leading to impaired cellular functioning or even cell death. Free radicals also can alter some parts of DNA, provoking uncontrolled cell growth, resulting incancer, a process that occurs with increased frequency with age. Damage to the DNA in mitochondria, the "energy plants" in cells that generate the energy-producing molecule, ATP, can cause diminished ability of some parts of the body to produce adequate energy for high demands.
Free radical damage to lipids can encourage the damaging oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), leading to artery-clogging plaques (atherosclerosis). At the same time, free radical damage to the cells lining the blood vessels (endothelial cells) reduces their ability to react quickly and efficiently to maintain proper blood flow to vital organs. The consequence of these problems is increased heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and high blood pressure (hypertension), to name a few of the more dangerous outcomes.
Free radicals also promote a harmful complexing of proteins and carbohydrates, called glycosylation. This process is greatly accelerated in diabetes, and also appears to contribute to cataract formation, damage to arteries, reduced movement of the joints, and other chronic problems.
Antioxidant nutrients play a key role in our ability to protect against this oxidative damage. The most popular nutrients in this category are vitamins E & C, along with beta-carotene. Our bodies also naturally produce antioxidant compounds such as lipoic acid, CoEnzymeQ10, and glutathione. However recent research findings have shown that human production of these naturally produced antioxidants is insufficient for optimal defense against oxidative damage.
The category of plant phenols known as flavonoids or bioflavonoid compounds, present in most plants, provide these antioxidant compounds.
The chalcones in ashitaba have been shown to be very potent anti-oxidants.
In an effort to make it easier to compare the different antioxidants found in our foods a new standard called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) has been created to measure the antioxidant activity of foods. Specifically, ORAC measures the time it takes to prevent an oxidation reaction.
As can be seen by the chart below, ashitaba's anti-oxidants are more potent than those found in green tea.
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